Gangs Of Wasseypur 2 Review

Critic Score 68

No User Reviews

Overall

68

Very Good

Indicine Review

Indicine | Subhash K Jha

Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the ganja-zonked protagonist delivers the deadliest performance in Kashyap’s gang as the most swaggering mercurial gangster on this side of James Caan in “The Godfather”. Richa Chadda as his mother portrays the simmering intensity of a passion whose flames won’t die down with old age. During a family wedding when Chadda, while singing a wedding song breaks down and then regains her composure, she proves she’s no ordinary actress.

We are in the midst of some extraordinary talent here. Let’s not undermine Huma Qureshi’s saucy turn as the love of Nawazuddin’s constantly-endangered life, just because she’s hot and glamorous. Huma scorches up the screen with her casual vibrancy.

80

Recommended

Critics Reviews

GANGS OF WASSEYPUR 2 is attention-grabbing, spellbinding and compelling than the initial part. Along with vibrant characters, Anurag amalgamates humor skillfully in the sequence of events [note the amusing names: Definite, Perpendicular and Tangent]. It also illustrates how Wasseypur is consumed with Bollywood; they emulate hairdos and appearances of various Hindi movie heroes. While there is little doubt that GANGS OF WASSEYPUR was winning to the core, GANGS OF WASSEYPUR 2 infuses some remarkable light moments in the narrative that reeks of vengeance and reprisal.

Director Anurag Kashyap, in his trademark pragmatic approach to story-telling, fascinatingly spins this tremendous account. However, with an elongated runtime, the movie misplaces grip, albeit faintly, towards the middle of the subsequent half. But congregates steam yet again without much ado, ensuing a spectacular culmination. On the facade, GANGS OF WASSEYPUR 2 is a vengeance story, a representation of retribution connecting generations of gangsters. Scrape that exterior and you'll notice more than that. The writing is unrestrained and imaginative. In fact, in terms of its screenplay, there is not a single scene in the film that leaves you with a sense of deja vu.

80

Recommended

Director, Anurag Kashyap's culmination to this gang-saga is as bloody as the first (if not more); yet it's an easier watch. The story is astutely interspersed with bursts of music (Bihari folkish tunes with a modern twist), humour (crass and rural), high drama and sudden relief - like a sexual climaxing. Even with a high quotient of brutal violence and moral assassination, Kashyap keeps his sense of humour (mostly black) intact, and entertains. With characters named 'Perpendicular', 'Definite' (Zeishan Quadri), 'Tangent' - he truly defies all tiresomely tried-and-tested formulas of filmmaking in Bollywood with his 'big bang-bang theory'. Though in spurts, it unleashes scenes that make you crack up, in true Bollywood style humour. Wasseypur is not devoid of star-struck fans, with gangsters and locals walking and talking like a deadly Dutt or a super cool Salman, peppered with dialogues like ' Hindustan mein jab tak cinema hai, log ch***ya bante rahenge'.

80

Recommended

After the mayhem in GOW, the script of GOW2 has many of the faults of its predecessor; sometimes even more. Characters like Perpendicular, Mohsina seem like they could have given much more had they been developed better, while others like Farhan (Piyush Mishra) have been relegated to the background. This doesn’t really make sense in the movie and seems haphazard.

One of the reasons why GOW2 is worth watching is because all the performances are top notch! Nawazuddin Siddiqui does the perfect shift of character as Faizal Khan.

No doubt that it must have been a very difficult decision for director Anurag Kashyap to decide which characters to retain for the sequel. But GOW2 just doesn’t live up to expectations. It seems long, tedious and repetitive.

40

Not Recommended

Following the chain of events in the first part, this was meant to be a revenge account. And in its 159-minute runtime, only a few bullets are dodged and the rest find shelter in their targets to ensure that the ‘badla’ is avenged proportionately. Many will complain that they have limited tolerance for graphic violence, while those who have an appetite for it would demand an utmost number of people to be wasted cleverly. So instead of analyzing this film, let’s review these distinct sets of film goers and what this offers (or doesn’t) to each.

60

Recommended

Dialogues for the movie (Zeishan and Anurag Kashyap) give a beautiful earthly feel to the almost unrealistic backdrop of violence. The story and screenplay are absolutely spot on as you do not feel bored even with a little extra length of the movie. Zeishan Quadri has done a great job in characterization, giving enough space for individuality. Cinematography by Rajeev Ravi adds to the screenplay. There are times when the screen goes completely black and those pauses in the visual story telling are beautifully taken, as you move around in your seat trying to squint and find out what happened to the character. Some of the violent shots with unstable camera movement has a gritty nervy feel about it. Visuals of perpendicular – a well-built teenager playing with the blade in his mouth and Definit taking a cobra like a muffler are tightly integrated with the screenplay. Editing again is to be blamed but with the kind of indulgence, you tend to feel that editing just to keep the length short would not have done justice to so many characters and their backstory.

85

Recommended

Director Anurag Kashyap takes his time again to establish the change in scenario. The men have turned to exploit businesses like auctioning of Railways' scrap iron, booth-capturing, election violence and overall scare tactics, wielding sophisticated weapons.

80

Recommended

It is a tough task to narrate the layered story of Gangs Of Wasseypur II. The sheer scale of the film and its complex screenplay need to be experienced. Kashyap has done a superb job of portraying a daring tale not many filmmakers would even think of venturing into. But the intelligent director squeezes so much into the screenplay that it becomes difficult to connect the dots. The beautiful prose and the plentiful subtexts require a lot of patience to understand. And that endeavour alone leaves you frustrated. It is also difficult to run away from a nagging sense of incompleteness as the film is riddled with many loopholes.

50

Average Movie

Anurag Kashyap’s trigger-happy Gangs are back. Wild, wild Wasseypur is buzzing once again with the swish of daggers, the din of gunshots and the curved conversations of violent men perpetually on the edge of sanity.

It certainly does, but by no stretch of the imagination is this anything like reviewing the same film. Gangs Of Wasseypur II is as distinct from Gangs Of Wasseypur as today’s Wasseypur must be from the nondescript but dangerous boondocks that the first part dealt with.

The storyline surges forth much faster as the new generation of gangsters, now armed with mobile phones and automatic rifles, gun for each other with greater viciousness and less ceremony than ever before.

80

Recommended

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays Faizal Khan. Perpetually under the purple haze of cannabis, Faizal is a brave-heart who prefers to go into battles alone. Few actors in recent years have managed to morph into characters the way Nawazuddin has. His everyman looks and incredible command over his body helps him achieve a level of transition that makes every leading man you’ve met this year at the movies seem like monkeys – imitations, either of others, or their own selves. You’re equally stunned by the casting (Mukesh Chhabra) of the rest of the film. Each piece, right down to the toothy thanedar, fits in brilliantly across a saga phenomenally mined by the story writer Zeishan Qadri. Over the past few years, the kind of talents Anurag Kashyap has managed to attract and inspire as both producer and director makes him India’s top film school of his own. He’s rightly the fan-boy’s ultimate filmmaker. Director Ram Gopal Varma used to play this role in the previous decade. This is doubtlessly Kashyap’s best work yet.

80

Recommended

Director Anurag Kashyap is on a roll, flavouring and layering his scenes with detail and humour. He also uses music interestingly in his narrative. However, after the first half, one wonders if the whole exercise has been too much of an indulgence. Too much childlike fascination with gruesome violence and grammatically challenged English, if you ask me.

50

Average Movie

So was part two worth the wait? Well, if you have seen the first part, then you do need to finish part two, just so you know how the story ended. And should you watch them back to back? Not really, you could quite easily watch the first one for all the reasons we suggested in our first review and then if you really wanted, watch the second one soon after, but a break you will need from the excessive length of both parts.

In the end, the first part for us was so much better, primarily due to Manoj Bajpai’s performance, that if we were pushed to take a pick, the first part will definitely remain longer in memory than the second one. What would be amazing is if they could release a super edited version of both parts, which can bring them into a complete three hours, that way the film would find a much larger and wider audience and would make for a far refined viewing experience.

50

Average Movie

Kashyap's film, in fact, is a lot about our cinema. Faizal fashions himself after Amitabh Bachchan but snaps when realising he might actually be Shashi Kapoor, Bachchan's frequent sidekick, instead. Despite his mercurial rise, he starts becoming less relevant at a time when Shah Rukh films dominate the world - DDLJ plays in Wasseypur movie-houses even as Dil Toh Pagal Hai posters promise the future - and when Definite, his hairdo-loving heir apparent, hears there might finally be a warrant to his name, he sings the Maine Pyaar Kiya lyric "Pehli pyaar ki pehli chitthi" in the hope that he might finally graduate with criminal dishonour.

Kashyap's visual flair has just grown with each film, and this one is not just cinematically self-assured but also highly nuanced: some of the touches - like Mohsina's choice of paperback - border almost on a Dibakarian immaculateness. Perpendicular Khan, meanwhile, like the Bob Biswas we met in Kahaani a few months ago, deserves his own graphic novel, pronto.

70

Recommended

Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays Faizal with masterful efficiency, his performance jaw-droppingly real. His transformation from the harmless offspring to menacing ganglord is without fault, his eyes portraying the angst of a young, brooding guy at first and the assuredness of a veteran warrior later. Some of the film’s best scenes are the ones starring Nawazuddin and co-star Huma Qureshi.

60

Recommended

You are rooting for Faizal Khan all along. The star of the show is Nawazuddin Siddique in his first leading role. He smokes and smokes up like a chimney and that is exhausting but his performance is brilliant to say the least! He carries the movie ably on his shoulders and has an impactful screen presence. Huma Qureshi is spunky and gorgeous as his supportive wife but you wish she had a meatier role. Richa Chadda is excellent again, as is Piyush Mishra. Zeishan Quadri makes an effective debut as Definite and his Salman Khan hangover is apparent in an entertaining way. Tigmanshu Dhulia delivers a nuanced performance. The acting is top-class from the entire supporting cast. Raj Kumar Yadav (Ragini MMS, Love Sex Aur Dhokha) plays a traitor effortlessly, yet again!

80

Recommended

But you cannot completely write off Anurag Kashyap. When there's bad, there's good too. He once again shows his brilliance in terms of sticking to his backdrop and changing it with the changing times. Even the stark contrasts that he projects are outstanding! For example, the usage of old Bollywood numbers like 'Teri Yaad Ayegi' sung in a very bhojpuriya rustic manner by Yashpal Sharma at the funeral of Sardar Khan is pure genius! The romantic elements between Nawaz and Huma Qureshi's character are also brilliantly portrayed.

50

Average Movie

The first part required you to concentrate as it introduced an avalanche of characters; sadly this one is no respite. Director Anurag Kashyap insists on taking several detours adding numerous character with their own back-story and introducing sub-plots.

Ultimately, the film tells us the story of a futile revenge war carried forward by the next generation that tries taking a step towards peace, but is thwarted by impulsive decisions taken by middlemen.

In fact, films are the medium through which we are made to understand the progression of time. That and the introduction of new technology (we see pagers, mobiles and the internet introduced) that ironically only helps the law-breakers get more efficient.

60

Recommended

Moments and situations like these and the grounded feeling the whole film carries is what make me ignore the two main grouses I have against Gangs of Wasseypur II. The choice of narration – it reads like a book, chapter-wise, without smooth flow. If it weren't for Piyush Mishra's voice and tone, the voice-over would seem never-ending. It felt like the story was in constant exposition, especially when the voice-over continues the second half. That new characters and themes are still being introduced post-interval didn't help either.

Otherwise the film leaves no room for complaint. Once again to name one actor as having done exemplary work would be unfair. The women in Anurag Kashyap films always stand-out. Not only for the character accorded to them and their strength but also for the unique sensuality he has them bring out.

80

Recommended

Cinematographic brilliance is a terrain where Anurag Kashyap is the uncrowned king. His canvas is all-encompassing, and his keen eye for details doesn’t leave anything out. The characters Perpendicular and Definite (Scriptwriter Zeeshan Quadri) find special mention, and the latter delivers a punch which nobody can think of – with his story, his character and his performance. Incorporating colloquialism into mainstream cinema and capturing the very essence of Dhanbad is something that ‘Wasseypur’ has done marvellously.